hmblmgnfcnt

Hello all,

I'm riding a 2015 Surly Straggler as a do-it-all machine that gets lots of miles, however I've moved to CO recently, and have discovered that loaded down, my 46/34-11/32 gearing may be no match for these Rocky Mountains. Currently set up with Ultegra 2x10 brifters, Ultegra LC RD, 105 FD, and the aforementioned gearing.

Does anyone know if it's possible to fit a larger cassette under the Ultegra LC RD? Or, will my crummy stock crankset take a smaller 30-32T ring up front? (can't remember the BCD, 110 IIRC).

Sadly, over the last 5k I've slowly pieced an Ultegra groupo together when I probably should've swapped over to the more flexible SRAM 2x10 setup to run a huge cassette and MTB RD with road brifters. Are there any other options? Shimano pulled a fast one with their 'new and improved' dynasis pull ratio, so now their Ultegra line is incompatible with their MTB RDs.

Looking to keep costs down, but ideally I think I should be running 50/34-11/36, or better. I have a full camp set, racks, pannies, bags, etc. and I definitely want to haul some of that gear through the mountains.

Sorry for long post. TIA.

PDKL45

The Wolftooth Roadlink (RoadLink ? wolftoothcomponents.com) would allow you to run an 11-40 cassette in the rear (look for Sunrace 10 speed 11-40 cassettes, they're very affordable) while retaining your Ultegra RD.

The Wolftooth Tanpan (Tanpan ? wolftoothcomponents.com) would allow you to run an MTB RD with a larger cassette, probably an 11-42, which is not a huge gain on the roadlink.

mstateglfr 

1- as mentioned, wolftooth roadlink. I will eventually use one for an 11sp 105 group I have on a gravel bike im building. Totally inappropriate gearing choice for how I want to use the bike, but I really wanted to try a CX crank along with 11sp gearing and the 105 group. The wolftooth workaround will make it easier to use as ill have 46-34 mated to an 11-36 cassette.

2- your crank, assuming its 110(and it almost for sure is), cant have a smaller ring added. Technically, a 33T ring could be used instead of the 34T ring, but that ring is expensive and uncommon.

3- I would struggle with your gearing on the hills around me, so i cant imagine how bad I would do in the Rockies. Nothing more to add on this thought.

4- Have you thought about moving to a triple? An old(or new) 110/74bcd triple would give you some really easy gearing. You could have a 26T granny up front for bail out situations.

5- FSA has a Gossamer model crank that is 46/30 and can be paired with all the stuff you already have.

saddlesores

how does this here wolftooth thingie work?
aren't you going beyond the capacity of most
rear deraillers?

cyccommute 

Unfortunately, the smallest ring your 110 BCD crank will take is a 33 tooth ring. That's not going to gain you much. Replacing the cassette with an 11-36 will take your low gear from a 29" gear to a 27" gear. Since you have a 10 speed and not an 11 speed cassette, you can't get an 11-40 off the shelf but you could replace the large cog with a 40 (never mind the large gap) and get a 24" gear. Still not much of an improvement.

You might be able to replace the crank with a 104/64mm BCD 4 arm mountain crankset. You can't get chainrings smaller than 32 teeth for the middle ring but you could jigger the chainline so that you could run a 46 tooth ring in the middle position and a 26 tooth ring on the inner position. This would give you this gearing with your current cassette. I've also included using the 11- 40 tooth cog in the chart for comparison. Neither would be that pleasant to shift...lots of large holes...but it would be workable.

You could also use a 42 tooth outer with the 26 tooth inner for a bit tighter range while sacrificing the high gear. The transition from high to low would be a bit less jarring than the 46 to 26 shift.

If you really want to extend your range, however, a triple is the way to go. A 46/34/22 crank with an 11-32 would give you really good climbing gears and much smoother transitions across the range. But it wouldn't be cheap. You'd need a crank (and probably an outer ring), a new left shifter and a front derailer. I'd put the cost at around $400 depending on level of components.

djb

I certainly agree with a triple being the best option for real world riding on a bike with baggage on it.
Unfortunately the costs are what they are.

bottom line is that triples just work better for riding with baggage on a bike, especially with gradients in any sort of mountainous terrain. The bike industry has been trying for years now to convince people that doubles are the bees knees, but it just aint so.

good luck with your dilemma and evaluating the pile of money involved.

fietsbob

Yes A triple crank allows a Lower low gear ratio.

the chain slack take up, may require a longer cage on the rear D.

Tourist in MSN

Another vote for a triple.

Some bike shops have a bucket of used vintage parts in the corner somewhere (price often negotiated). If your bike has the fitting for a downtube friction shifter (I assume it does), you could use a friction shifter for your front derailleur while you decide if you like using a triple. Then if you want a different shifter later, deal with that at that time.

I am running a brifter for my rear, a friction downtube shifter for my front (a vintage Huret shifter) on my rando bike with a square taper Campy road triple. I often use vintage front derailleurs that were designed for doubles on my bikes with triples, such derailleurs are cheap and easy to find.

I have no idea if your rear derailleur would take up all the slack, on my derailleur touring bike when I am on the smallest chainring I can't use the two smallest rear sprockets - but those two gears are badly cross chained so I would not want to use them anyway.

Lance A (yes I know he is quite ridiculed now) used to use a downtube friction shifter on the front with a rear brifter, tell people you did that to make the bike lighter like Lance did.

robow

There are only 3 manufacturers of a 46-30 crank that I'm aware of, one makes use of an external bottom bracket (Sugino), the other two need a square taper bottom bracket (IRD and Velo Orange). With a standard 10 speed 105 gs derailleur, I can get a 11-34 cassette to work nicely without too much manipulation of the B screw but I can't go any lower than that (30x34) 23.6 gear inches. Sugino will allow you to create a lower double crank but they are extremely pricey and at that point, I would just buy a cheaper mountain bike crank and work from there. An XT triple of 48-36-26 and an 11-34 cassette only gives you ONE lower gear combination vs. the double of 30 x 34 above. Is it worth it ? That's up to you to decide but otherwise you're going mountain bike drive train and/or changing out the 26 for a 24t which can get you a little lower.

edthesped

Don't forget the White Industries VBC crank. I have a Sugino OX601D on my Vaya my daughter has a 5703 on her AWOL. Both have 11/36 Cassettes and brifters. Given a choice, I'd take the triple any day.

robow

Doh! Of course, how did I leave out that economy priced little trinket : )

PDKL45

That was correct until this year. Check out the Sunrace MX3 10-Speed 11-40.

SunRace MX3 10 Speed Shimano - SRAM Cassette | Chain Reaction Cycles

edthesped

I might have to get one of these...

edit: nevermind, it's for a 1x10

PDKL45

I may actually be wrong about it being able to be used in a 2x10 drivetrain. Is there a reason why it can't be used with a double up front?

Edit: Wolftooth's Roadlink compatibility section states: "11-40: Single or Double Chainring (front rings can be no more than 14 teeth different e.g. 48-34)" and people on other sites are reporting running 50-34 cranksets with 11-40 cassettes.

saddlesores

why buy an overpriced xt that's barely better
gearing-wise as the current setup, unless you
fork out even more for new rings?

get a deore 22-32-44 and be a happy camper.

mstateglfr 

FSA has one too.

FSA SL-k light Adventure Modular BB386EVO - FULL SPEED AHEAD

robow

I've seen it mentioned but have never seen the 46-30 for sale, got any ideas where they are sold and in stock?

mstateglfr 

Sorry, no idea. Full disclosure, im new to caring about newest technology. Ive kept to 110/74 triples or straight forward drivetrains, or a combo on all my bikes.

Im sucked in right now because im building a new gravel bike and decided to go 11sp to try out the newest goodies.

The speed incompatability combined with the insane bottom bracket options has driven me nuts.


Anyways, not sure if this FSA 46/30 is just an OEM crank for now or what.

mdilthey

SRAM and Shimano both make 46-32's, that's what I use. It would be fairly simple to pair one with an extended range cassette. Praxis makes a 11-42 cassette for 10-speed that would be happy tied to a long-cage derailleur.

saddlesores

FSA AFTERBURNER MTB Bike Crankset + BB30 Compact Double 170mm 42/27T X-10s $96


https://www.amazon.com/AFTERBURNER-C.../dp/B015T3ZSRC

robow

Yea, but again, that's not the Holy Grail, 46-30 of which I have climbed mountains and sailed the seas for. That's just a cheap mountain bike double that you can find being sold by any homeless guy in an alley. Find thee the FSA 46-30 and you shall be knighted (even made king if can be found for less than 200 clams)

edthesped

Cheapest I found is the Sugino from Hubjub, ~2 bills delivered...

Sugino OX601D crankset

edit: It is a 10speed crank though...

robow

Yea, they say "limited quantities and call before ordering", so a while back I emailed them twice about availability and whether they ship to the US and got no response. YMMV

edthesped

I had a pretty good experience with them, actually have a new one from them in my basement...

edit: I guess I got lucky as I see the 170mm are out of stock..

cyccommute 

Be careful with those SunRace cassettes. They are a bit iffy in terms of quality. I have an 11-36 9 speed cassette (another difficult item to find) that popped and skipped with a new chain out of the box. They are cheap but you get what you pay for.